Articles

Equipment Checkout Software for Small Organisations

Your photography club, church, or makerspace needs to track who has what equipment. Compare Google Sheets, asset management software, and simple checkout tracking to find what works for your organisation.
Dan C. Edwards, software engineer and founder of Your Book Nest, simple library software for community libraries.

Dan Edwards

Founder

Saturday, 1 November 2025
Desk setup with printer, clock, and computer in a bright office environment during daytime work hours

A photography club has 20 cameras worth $20,000.

A church has projectors, microphones, and tables that people borrow.

A makerspace has tools that walk away.

You need to track who has what.

Why equipment tracking is different from inventory

You do not need asset management software. That is for tracking serial numbers and depreciation.

You need checkout software for tracking who borrowed what. Who borrowed the drill? When is it due back?

Most equipment tracking software is designed for corporations with IT departments. A volunteer managing a photography club lends gear exactly like a tool library or library of things.

Google Sheets, free but fragile

Create columns: Equipment Name, Borrowed By, Phone Number, Date Out, Date Due. The limits of a spreadsheet apply here just as they do for books.

  • What it costs

    Free.

  • The good parts

    Everyone knows how to use it. Works on any device. Share it with multiple volunteers.

  • The not-so-good parts

    Easy to accidentally delete rows. No reminders when equipment is overdue. Gets messy fast. Looks unprofessional when showing a member "let me check my spreadsheet..."

  • Best for

    Under 20 items. Testing if you need real software.

Asset tracking software, overkill and expensive

Enterprise asset management software, such as Asset Panda or EZOfficeInventory, handles equipment checkout.

  • What it costs

    $30-$100/month.

  • The good parts

    Every feature imaginable. Barcode scanning. Mobile apps. Reports. Maintenance tracking.

  • The not-so-good parts

    Designed for IT departments managing 1,000+ items. Complex setup. Monthly fees add up. You are paying for features you will never use.

  • Best for

    Organisations with 500+ items and dedicated staff.

Equipment rental software, the wrong tool entirely

Software like Booqable or EZRentOut is designed for rental businesses.

  • What it costs

    $50-$150/month.

  • The good parts

    Handles pricing, invoicing, online booking, and payment processing.

  • The not-so-good parts

    You are not running a rental business. You are tracking club equipment. All the rental features are useless overhead.

  • Best for

    Actual rental businesses that generate revenue from equipment.

YourBookNest.com, built for simple checkout tracking

I built this because everything else was either too simple (spreadsheets) or too complicated (asset management software).

YourBookNest.com tracks who has what equipment and when it is due back. Nothing more, nothing less.

  • What it costs

    Free for under 100 items. $60/year for larger collections.

  • The good parts

    Dead simple. Beautiful modern interface. Works on phones, tablets, and computers. No installation. Volunteers learn it in minutes. Perfect for photography clubs, churches, makerspaces, and sports clubs.

  • The not-so-good parts

    Basic. No barcode scanning. No maintenance tracking. No invoicing. Just checkout and due dates.

  • Best for

    Organisations with 20-500 items where simplicity matters more than features.

How to choose

  • Under 20 items?

    Google Sheets. Do not overthink it.

  • 20-100 items?

    YourBookNest.com (free). Simple checkout tracking with a proper interface.

  • 100-500 items?

    YourBookNest.com ($60/year). Still simple, just more capacity.

  • 500+ items or need maintenance tracking?

    Asset management software. You have outgrown simple tools.

  • Running a rental business?

    Equipment rental software. You need invoicing and payments.

What organisations actually need

Not what corporations need.

You do not need barcode scanners, depreciation tracking, maintenance schedules, or integration with your ERP system.

You need to know: Who has the camera? When is it due back? How do I contact them?

That is it.

Special considerations for equipment tracking

  • Valuable items

    A camera costs more than a book. You care more about tracking it.

  • Volunteer-run

    The person managing equipment changes every year. Software must be instantly learnable.

  • Members forget

    People hold onto equipment longer than books. You need a simple way to see what is overdue and contact them.

  • No budget

    Most clubs and small organisations run on member dues. $60/year is manageable. $100/month is not.

Final recommendation

  • Most small organisations (20-500 items)

    YourBookNest.com. Simple, affordable, purpose-built for this exact use case.

  • Under 20 items

    Google Sheets works fine.

  • Large organisations with complex needs

    Bite the bullet and get proper asset management software.

Your equipment is valuable. Tracking it should not be complicated.

Pick something simple and start tracking today.

Your Book Nest pricing

Free for up to 100 items. After that it is $60/year flat - one fee for the whole library, no per-volunteer charge and no cut of anything.

  • Unlimited copies and loans
  • A sign-in for every volunteer
  • No MARC and no Dewey
  • Patrons are just names - no sign-ups to chase, no public catalogue to moderate

No card to start. No contract. Cancel anytime.

Try Your Book Nest now

No sign-up and no demo to book. Just open the demo and start adding books, patrons and loans, with sample data already in place.

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